i am suzanne malveaux. closing arguments set to start soon in the george zimmerman murder trial. we of course bringing it to you live right here on cnn. you won't miss a thing here. here is what we expect. the prosecution is going to present its closing argument that will take about two hours. then tomorrow defense attorney mark o'mara delivers his closing as well followed by a prosecution rebuttal. then the jury gets the instructions and the deliberations will begin. the six woman jury will decide if the 29-year-old neighborhood watch captain george zimmerman shot and killed unarmed teenager trayvon martin in self-defense or was it second degree murder? judge debra nelson this morning ruled that jurors can consider the lesser charge of manslaughter. she has yet to decide if the jury can consider third degree felony murder as well. the judge likely will make that ruling in just a couple of minutes when the court returns

from lunch break. live to sanford, florida, george howell outside the courthouse and, george, we watched all morning. fireworks in the courtroom, the jury not there but defense attorney don west not only battling the prosecutor but also the judge numerous times. what were the issues? >> well, we're dealing with this hearing of the charging conference and the jury instructions, basically deciding exactly what george zimmerman could be charged with and what this jury will hear with regards to instructions from the judge about the rule of law, what to consider in this case. so here is the thing. you talk about the fireworks. there were definitely fireworks had it came to the basic instructions and the defense attorneys, how it is not unlawful to follow persons by car or foot. the judge said she is not going to include that.

that's where we saw a bit of that testy exchange. provocation, any language about provocation when it comes to use of justifiable force, no language with regards to that. also, there is question about circumstantial evidence. we're still unclear about exactly how that is going to be either applied or not applied when it comes to instructions. we're still waiting for clarification on that. again, as you mentioned, we have an idea of what the list could look like, the list for jurors to choose from. it could be guilty second degree murder, could be guilty manslaughter, guilty third degree felony murder, or not guilty. that's what the jurors may have to choose from. we're still waiting to hear the ruling on the third degree felony murder. >> george, how are the jurors doing today? they're going to be back in the courthouse at 1:00. that's moments away actually, and just a couple of minutes here. they basically had the morning off?

>> they did have the morning off. i was in the courtroom earlier. they were not there for this particular hearing. i can tell you this. when you go upstairs, you do get a sense that there is heightened law enforcement presence here, that they're just paying very close attention to everything happening around here. i can tell you walking the grounds a bit things are peaceful, not a lot happening out here, but you do get that sense. they're looking outside the windows. >> george, the judge has started to speak. we'll listen in. >> i am not going to give that instruction. i have received your final draft, so it is not so final yet. the change that would need to be made is on the lessers to take out the third degree felony murder, and we can just excise out the charges and i don't

have -- you will finalize the verdict form. >> yes, your honor, we will. >> i understand your argument. >> i was going to ask which part of shooting the child hadn't been established. >> well, i just don't think that the intentional part of that is there for the child abuse charge, and it is not alleged in the information that way. i just don't think that the evidence supports that. if i am not sure about that, i am not going to charge the jury on it. i think that to exercise caution, i am going to deny that being set before the jury. >> i understand. any error that's been established as reversible will be deemed waived.

i hope we protect the record in that regard. >> okay. >> any objections to the proposed final draft of the jury instructions? that would be changing the lesser included crimes to just allege manslaughter, taking out the charge on felony murder, the justifiable homicide after that, the possession of firearm and discharge causing death after that instruction, and there is a blank page. the next charge is the manslaughter, justifiable use of deadly force, plea of not guilty, date of crime, venue, weighing the evidence, expert

witnesses, george zimmerman not testifying, george zimmerman's statements, rules for deliberation, notes, cautionary instruction, verdict, submitting the case to the jury. any objections other than what the state has already argued on any other objections from the state? >> other than what we said, no, your honor. >> [ muted ]. >> all right. we -- this case obviously having a number of twists and turns here. the judge's ruling, we just heard she is not going to instruct the jury for the third degree felony murder charge. want to bring in our legal analyst to talk about what that decision means. first joining us here, natalie jackson, on set with me, an

attorney with tropical systayvo family. who is this a win for. >> definitely the defense. i think in this case the judge, she is usually going to side with the most caution with the defendant. he has the most rights as it pertains to this case and the trial as we get to this. i don't know that so much a big win because i think most people anticipated the case to be second degree murder with the lesser included of manslaughter. >> uh-huh. and this particular charge, i mean, the judge didn't seem to think that it was really in line with what had actually happened because it entailed child abuse because he was 17 years old at the time that he was killed, trayvon martin. >> well, under florida law he is a child. i think she felt that this, they just didn't have prove every element to her that she would consider the third degree felony murder as a charge for this case. >> i want to bring in a criminal defense attorney. what do you make of her decision? >> it is the right legal decision. i think if she let it in it

would have been reversible error. she looked at it. i think it was rather unexpected clearly by the defense and the state made an effort to get it in. that's their job to fit within the law and that's the way it plays. the judge absolutely made the right decision. this would have been a real question to bring this in based upon the facts as they have unfolded. this was a category b lesser included offense. purely discretionary with the judge. >> let's listen? >> zimmerman is charged with second degree murder in this case. >> that's fine. okay. >> otherwise to be -- >> taking out the third degree felony murder, the rest of it seems to be correct. >> yes. i think so. >> okay. are there any other inconstructioinstructions being requested by the defense?

>> there is a couple of occasions where words are pluraled that should be singular. i am sure the state can -- >> the substance, we can change that. i am looking for really substantive changes. thank you for pointing that out. >> so we're now addressing any other changes. >> correct.

>> you brought up a good point. you said this is critical, this process. it may seem teed us and somewhat boring but what is taking place in the courtroom now is critical. tell us why. >> it is. mark james is absolutely right. jury instructions are very important to the process. it is the most fertile ground for appealable error. the judge will make sure she gets this right to the t and that there is exact as they can be, even down to the periods and the commas, as we hear the plurals, even down to that. >> tell us about this.

you represent the family of trayvon martin. how have they been holding up through all of this? this is quite an ordeal. >> it has been a journey for them for a year-and-a-half. this is a chance for closure. we followed them all along justice and equal justice is not about the outcome, says the process and making sure it is equal and fair for everyone. i think it is the proper message people should get from this case is that i think this judge has been very fair. i think her rulings have been exact. i think both -- >> let's listen in. >> review the jury instructions with counsel. >> yes, your honor. >> are these instructions agreeable with you, sir. >> yes. >> thank you very much. court will be in recess. >> they're taking a quick recess here before we will -- until about 1:35 i am being told. we'll take a quick break and talk about the analysis on the

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...and we inspected his brakes for free. -free is good. -free is very good. [ male announcer ] now get 50% off brake pads and shoes at meineke. we're following the george zimmerman trial. to want bring back our legal analysts. natalie jackson represents the trayvon martin family. mark nejame, criminal defense attorney, and natalie, i want to talk to you about this. you and i, we talked about this during the break. there have been so many fights if you will or tense moments between don west and this judge, judge nelson. how do you think this is playing out with the jurors and you had an interesting perspective on this. >> yeah. i think that -- i understand don's position because i have done criminal defense law and when you represent someone you are very passionate about it and

what he has to worry about is you have a jury full of women and they're watching the way he has treated this judge and the attitudes he has given this judge, so i think he needs to watch that aspect just from the legal perspective of the jury, and if they think that he has been disrespectful to the judge. this is her courtroom. this is her domain. >> does it seem like an element of sexism if you have this six women on the jury and looking at this exchange, this dynamic between the two. >> it could. yes. that's why he has to worry. there is a difference to some people and i think lay people don't understand the difference between being a passionate advocate and just being plain rude. >> and mark, weigh in if you will. i know the jurors were not actually in the courtroom today when some of those exchanges happened, but certainly there have been tense moments between don west and this judge. >> yeah. and as natalie says and, look, natalie is a crackerjack excellent attorney and the family is well served by having natalie on their team from the start. her observations are astute.

they're right on. the thing, though, is most of this is all taking place outside the presence of the jury. don west enjoys really a tremendous reputation here in central florida. the reality is you can tell that this judge and don west, they have issues with each other. that's just palpable. the presence in front of the jury, particularly after the first few days, you see mark o'mara take overall of the type of witnesses where you are wanting to make an impact. you are wanting to show a nice guy and be personable and i think they succeeded with that. i think if they kept don west on because of the antagonism between him and the judge it could have gone along the path you all are talking about. i think they caught themselves. they reversed the direction they were going, and i think that you have seen the charm that mark o'mara has been pretty much exuding with the jury. he has been very much of a gentleman, kept it soft, kept it very, very even keeled without a lot of drama and theatrics and i think it plays well, particularly in a case like this

where you have the death of a 17-year-old teenager. >> stay with us. we'll do more analysis on the other side.

an asiana airlines flight 214 just crash landed in san francisco. passengers were immediately on their phones trying to get help after that. you will hear some of the 911 calls made by people who walked out of that wreckage and amazingly surrounded by plane parts and fire, kept their cool. listen. >> yeah. we are stranded on the airline, and it looks like it is coming

but not too many ambulances. >> we have ambulances and fire department on the way. tell me, are there people trapped on the plane? i know some have gotten off already. >> i think the majority people got off. i tried to stay back, but i think there are at least a hand fortunately of people behind where everyone is telling us to get out. >> are you actually trapped or just that people haven't gone -- >> no, no, most people have gone down the slide. i think there are some people going into the plane now. >> people going back into the plane? >> the emergency crews. >> hi. we are at the san francisco international airport. we just got in a plane crash. there are a lot of people that need help. >> are you with a lot of the ambulances there? >> no. they are not. we have people over here who weren't found, and they're burned really badly. >> where are you at?

>> we're on the outskirts. we're not towards the airport itself. we're more on the field where planes are landing. >> i was on the plane. we have been on the ground 20 minutes, a half hour. there are people laying on the tarmac with critical injuries, head injuries. we're almost losing a woman here. we're trying to keep her alive. >> amazing calls, 307 people aboard that plane, two teenaged passengers, girls died, but more than 120 people actually walked away without a scratch. the relatives of those two chinese girls who died were able to visit the scene of the crash landing. the asiana airlines source tells cnn the girl's parents wanted to see where with they died. some of the other survivors were also taken in buses to the scene of the accident late wednesday. head of the railway that own that is run away train that slammed into a canadian town now casting doubt on his own engineer's story, at least 20 people were killed, 30 others are missing after that train with the tanks carrying crude

oil exploded, burned in this small town, this is near the main border, the engineer said he set brakes on train before leaving it the night before. the head of the railway now says, quote, it is questionable whether or not the engineer did what he actually said. the engineer has been suspended without pay, facing a criminal investigation. and the new temporary government of egypt thanked the united states today for what it calls american understanding of the events that are simply shaking that country. millions of egyptians have marched, demonstrated both for and against the military overthrow of mohamed morsi's presidency. so far no u.s. official including president obama has voiced support for anybody to leave egypt until a new election. a u.s. state department spokeswoman said yesterday that ousted president morsi's rule was, quote, not a democratic one. public protests are quieter around egypt today since the start of the religious holiday

ramadan. for the first time attorneys for the colorado mass shooting suspect james holmes are now admitting that he carried out the deadly attack. the denver post says holmes' defense team made the admission in a court filing. his attorney says that holmes was having a psychotic episode when he killed a dozen people last year at that theater shooting in aurora. it happened during the premiere of the batman movie "dark knight rises." holmes faces a variety of charges including murder and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. his trial is expected to take place next year. it was emotional day in court, at the arraignment, the boston bombing suspect dzhokhar plead i guilty to all counts against him. the hearing was packed with dozens of survivors and family

members. >> reporter: under heavy guard, armed security, and police divers searching the harbor outside the courthouse, 19-year-old dzhokhar tsarnaev was arraigned wednesday as police outside lined up to honor slain mit officer sean collier and inside 30 victims and family members sat shoulder to shoulder watching, listening, and for mitt romney liz norden, hoping for any sign of remorse. >> no remorse. he smirked in the courtroom. >> speaking in a russian accent he pleaded not guilty to 30 charges against him including a use of a weapon of mass destruction to kill people. tsarnaev's two sisters sob when had they saw their brother. it appeared he suffered nerve damage to his face. he looked back at his sisters and smiled repeatedly, seeming to ignore both the judge and the seriousness of the situation.

norden whose two sons each lost a leg had a hard time watching the women. >> it bothered me when they cried. i want them to come to my house and see what my boys go through every day and see how we feel. >> the hearing took less than ten minutes. tsarnaev returned to prison where he will celebrate his 20th birthday this month. cnn, boston. rescue on the tracks, cameras catching this moment, it is amazing, a man in a wheelchair tumbles on the subway tracks. we'll show you the dramatic rescue ahead and also keeping a live eye there, the zimmerman trial, you see the small box, closing arguments set to begin in ten minutes. we'll be right back. copd includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. spiriva is a once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that helps open my obstructed airways for a full 24 hours. you know, spiriva helps me breathe easier. spiriva handihaler tiotropium bromide inhalation powder

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we are ten minutes away. we'll dry you live coverage of the george zimmerman murder trial, closing arguments set to begin moments away. it will be uninterrupted without any breaks. we'll bring it to you moment by moment as soon as it starts. we're also watching stocks soaring on wall street with the

dow testing record territory now, up 137 just after the opening bell this morning. dow jones industrial average climbed to above 15,456 points. that puts it above its record closing high that was set back in may. we'll see where it finishes up today. good news there. country singer superstar randy travis still very ill today, definitely not out of the woods. just hours after travis was reportedly showing some improvement his publicist says he suffered a stroke. had to have surgery to ease the pressure on his brain. randy travis has been in a texas hospital since sunday with a serious heart condition. he is just 54 years old. this is something you won't want to see heading your way. watch this. that's right. this is amateur video, a funnel cloud in lawrence county,

pennsylvania, just unbelievable, greg houston and his parents were in their car on a highway when he spotted that funnel cloud. his mother says it was much closer than it actually looks in the video. luckily they were able to speed away and the funnel cloud actually moved on. this car is being swept away in a river of mud. look at that. an area just south of colorado springs, already devastated by fire, well, now, dealing with this, these mud slides. the driver of that car reportedly not injured. just one inch of water fell on charred land. it was not -- it was actually enough to close many of the roads and the mud left anything in its path covered and stuck as you see the vehicles there. we also have this is amazing story. dramatic pictures to show you, washington, d.c. subway station, the system there, you see that man in a wheelchair apparently rolling forward to get a closer look at the sign when he went over the edge and right on the

tracks. this happened in one of the busiest stations. i know this station well. this man just inches from the electrified third rail and the train likely to arrive in moments and an army specialist jumps to help him out. check it out. >> i just jumped down there and started helping him out and started pulling, trying to pick him up and i realize he is seat belt strapped to the wheelchair and every second felt like 30 seconds. >> two others ran in to help as well lifting the wheelchair out. you see the man is recovering, the soldier says he is not a hero, he just did the right thing. congratulations to him. >> and code for america, it is kind of like think of peace corps for geeks, the next thing coming on the next list and dr. sanjay gupta explains what it is. i am dr. sanjay gupta. meet jennifer, code for america, a peace corps for geeks >> most people have seen that geeks have changed the world so

much in the past 10 or 20 years that they haven't changed government yet. we get people to take a year off. it is geeks and also designers and also product managers and people from the technical industries and we get them to work with people in city hall to solve problems in cities for a year. >> she wants to fix local government one smartphone app at a time. >> this saturday, 2:30 eastern, on "the next list." >> stay with us. we'll be back in just a few minutes. we'll take a quick break. we're watching live george zimmerman murder trial expected to be back in the courtroom, the jury will be back in that courtroom in about a couple of minutes or so after the break. closing arguments set to start. ♪

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we're watching live there you see inside the courthouse george zimmerman trial, the closing arguments will begin under way in just a couple of minutes away. i want to bring our legal analysts back in. natalie, you are one of the attorneys for the trayvon martin

family, the prosecution is about the closing arguments.tially, - what do you expect? >> i expect them to try to refocus the jury, refocus them on the totality of the circumstances from the time trayvon martin was first spotted by george zimmerman until george zimmerman was arrested. the defense has done a pretty decent job of making sure to try to keep the focus tight on just the middle of the struggle to the shooting, and i think that the defense, the prosecution is going to try to reopen their minds on totality of circumstance, and i also think they're going to point out the five different statements and all of the inconsistencies in these statements from george zimmerman. >> are we expecting any surprises, anything we haven't necessarily heard or is this about weaving it altogether. >> i think it is about weaving it altogether. i think there was some criticism of the prosecution for not finishing some question that is people had. >> like what? >> how can george zimmerman be

screaming when there is blood going down his throat? why aren't the screams garbled? if he is being smothered, why aren't the screams mufled? i think will you hear those type of arguments. >> mark what, are you listening for? >> i think all of those issues that were just discussed are very easily resolved and they'll be resolved now that the defense even has a duty or responsibility to do so because the state made a fatal error in my opinion. they charged second degree homicide rather than charging this straight up as manslaughter, where they would have been able to make a better argument that george zimmerman over reacted, that it was irresponsible and this was a manslaughter case. they spent 90% of this trial starting with opening argument until about two days ago trying to make everybody believe that it was in fact george zimmerman who was a top trayvon martin and when they finally came to the conclusion that she should have done a year and several months

ago that it was in fact george zimmerman on the bottom, now they're trying to come up with this alternate theory that maybe there is a 90 degree angel and maybe trayvon martin was trying to get away. they really made a fatal error in that regard and they'll have to try to clean that up and argue i think what you will hear is mainly an argument that really addresses a manslaughter because that is their best hope in a very, very difficult situation. they made representations at opening argument which they're simply unable to prove and all the more by their acknowledgment because when they straddle that dummy, that was a reenactment of george zimmerman being on the bottom. they never did a re-enactment with trayvon martin being on the bottom. they all but conceded that point. that's a credibility issue. i don't think they can recover from. >> we know that natalie is be shaking her head. we'll break in and get back to natalie so she can react to some of those things. my name is mike and i quit smoking.

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we're watching live coverage there inside of the courthouse. closing arguments will begin in just a moment. we are are watching this as you have been as well, george zimmerman murder trial, a lot of attention, this is really a critical moment in this case, and of course we're going to bring it live and they will talk a little bit about the family of trayvon martin and we were getting notes from inside the courthouse that trayvon martin's parents are there. george zimmerman's parents are seated. they are bringing in the props, some of those props we see before, the mannequin, as well as the hoodie. paint a picture for us if you will. you talked to this family. you have gotten to know them very well. what do you think is going on now? >> they're a peaceful, prayerful family and i know that sabrina has probably had her bible with her and had it with her the whole time and they're listening

intently. the whole thing is to see the evidence against george zimmerman and to see the evidence and really try to piece together what happened that night in their mind with the evidence. >> are they satisfied they have a real understanding of what happened that evening. >> i think they are. they know their son trayvon and the evidence he was walking home from the store and excited about and makes sense he will turn into a raging homicidal maniac which is what he is being painted as. >> we have actually seen his mother walk out several times, that there were points where she just could not take some of the things that were being said and the photos and likewise some of the materials there. how does she feel now in terms of how this is presented to both of them and sometimes kind of a sterile and sometimes controversial environment?

>> i think what we have seen and the feeling has been from people who are really emotionally invested in this is it is a trial about trayvon. it was about the trial of trayvon martin. >> let's listen in. >> the attorneys will not present their final arguments. please remember what the attorneys say is not evidence or your instruction on the law. do listen closely to their arguments. they are intended to aid you in understanding the case. each side will have equal time. the state is entitled to divide this time between an opening argument and a rebuttal argument after the defense has spoken. just so we know, mr. de la rionda will let us know when is a good breaking time for a recess during his argument. we will take a brief recess in the middle. you will let us know when. >> yes. >> you may proceed. >> please the court, counsel.

good afternoon. >> good afternoon. >> a teenager is dead. he is dead through no fault of his own. he is dead because another man made assumptions. that man assumed certain things. he is dead not just because the man made those assumptions, because he acted upon those assumptions, and unfortunately, unfortunately because his assumptions were wrong, trayvon benjamin martin no longer walks on this earth. the defendant in this case

george zimmerman acted upon those assumptions. and because of that, a young man, a 17-year-old man, barely 17-year-old man, i think three weeks past his birthday, is dead. unfortunately this is one of the last photos that will ever be taken of trayvon martin. that is true because of the actions of one individual, the man before you, the defendant, george zimmerman.

a man who after shooting trayvon martin claims to not have realized that he was dead and what did he do, do you recall what the testimony was about what he did after? did he render or attempt to render the same aid that the heroic officers from the sanford police department did who didn't wear the mask they normally would wear but gave mouth to mouth, performed cpr, in an attempt to bring life back into that young boy? did he do that? recall also what happened when

mr. manalo came out and recall also what happened when the officer came out, and that they handcuffed him and recall what he told mr. manalo, please call my wife, and then apparently mr. manalo was taking too long or something and he said just tell her i killed him, just matter of fact. those acts, those actions speak volumes of what occurred that evening, sunday evening and they speak volumes of this defendant's actions. sunday february 27th, sorry, february 26th, 2012, at 7:09 p.m., at the retreat at twin

lakes town homes, now, are you obviously aware that the shooting actually happened minutes later. i think because of the recording that was made we were actually able to precisely determine when that fatal shot occurred. it occurred at 7:16 and 55 seconds. i would submit that the events leading up to this murder actually occurred not just earlier that sunday evening, but months before. why do i say that? even though trayvon martin wasn't there months before, why do i say that the events leading up to this occurred months before?

you recall the testimony of several people, but most importantly, the evidence you heard from this defendant's mouth when he was being interviewed by investigator singleton, when she first said something to the effect of, well, tell me what happened out there, i wasn't out there, i haven't gone to the scene, and what did he first say? >> 19502. i am going to keep quiet and you tell me the story. you tell me what happened that night. okay? whatever led up to this. anything you want to tell me about what happened and why it ended up what it ended up to, this boy got shot. okay? >> the be neighborhood has had a

lot of crimes. my wife saw our neighbors get broken into, and she got scared. >> are you talking about the residence or the vehicles? >> the residence, while it was occupied. so i decided to start a neighborhood watch program in my neighborhood. >> what is the name of the neighborhood? >> retreat at twin lakes. >> now, those actions weren't anything sinister or terrible or evil or of ill will. those were actions that occurred throughout the united states in many cities, unfortunately, where crimes occur in a neighborhood and people get together and form neighborhood watches or other associations to deal with it. there is nothing sinister or wrong with that.

in this particular case it led to the death of an innocent 17-year-old boy. . he profiled him as a criminal. he assumed certain things. that trayvon martin was up to no good. that is what led to his death. trayvon martin. he was staying. he was there legally. he hadn't broken in or sneaked in or trespassed. he was there legally. he went to the 7-eleven store earlier that evening. he bought what? what did he buy? what was his crime?

he bought skittles and some kind of watermelon or iced tea or whatever it's called. that was his crime. he had $40.15 in his pockets. he was wearing a photo button. and he was speaking to a girl in mia miami. he was minding his own business. but apparently this defendant decided that he was up to no good. that the victim was up to no good.

what had trayvon martin planned for that evening? watch a basketball game with his younger, i guess you'd call him stepbrother or friend. the son of his father's fiancee. that's where he was headed back home. you know, this wasn't at 2:00 in the morning. or partying somewhere. not that that would in any way minimize it, but he wasn't -- he was just doing a normal, everyday thing. he went to the store, got something, got some skittles and some tea or drink. and was just walking back. it was raining. he was wearing a hoodie. last i heard, that's not against the law. but in this man's eyes, he was up to no good. he presumed something that was not true. now, what's ironic about this

neighborhood watch, and you heard from officers, again, that's a respected thing that we encourage citizens to do. but in this particular case, he didn't even bother to find out if he thought he was up to no good. he called the police, the nonemergency number. but then he followed him. he tracked him. because in his mind, in the defendant's mind, this was a criminal. and he was tired of criminals committing crimes out there. again, that's not a bad thing. it's good that citizens get involved. but he went over the line. he assumed things that weren't true. and instead of waiting for the police, instead of waiting for the police to come and do their job, he did not. because he, the defendant, wanted to make sure that trayvon

martin didn't get out of the neighborhood. you might recall the prior testimony about the prior incidents. what happened? they would commit some kind of crime, apparently. and they would all flee. by the time -- i think there was one guy that was caught. but the rest of them would flee. and this defendant was sick and tired of it. so that night he decided he wanted -- he was going to be what he wanted to be. a police officer. now, police officers are trained. recall one of the questions that was asked of investigator serino by the defense. su sir, if you were driving by and somebody was in the front yard an looking through a window, wouldn't you stop your car and kind of investigate that? his first -- my recollection is that his comment was, his answer was, i would think maybe he lives there. but, see, in this defendant's mind, because of the prior crime out there, he automatically assumed that trayvon martin was a criminal.

that's why we're here. that is why we're here. because the defense is going to argue to you that this was self-defense. and they're going to say, what actually happened at the time of the shooting? and i'm going to talk about that, obviously. but you can't just take that in a vacuum. it's not like this defendant was just walking home and some guy came out of nowhere and just started beating him up. i mean, when you think of it, when you really, honestly think about it, who was more scared? the guy, the kid that was minding his own business and going home that was being followed by another guy in a truck, in an suv, that kept following him -- recall what he told rachel jeantel? this guy? he's following me. she said something to the effect of, well, maybe he's like a sex pervert or something. that's when he referred to he's a cracker, whatever used he used. he used the "n" word, too.

when you think of it, that is the person that was scared, i would submit. now, trayvon martin, unfortunately, can't come into this courtroom and tell you how he was feeling. and that's true because of the actions of one man. the defendant. let's talk about the defendant that night. no dispute that he lived there at retreat at twin lakes. no dispute that he was part -- maybe he was the neighborhood watch. but, again, that's perfectly good. that's a good thing. but he was upset that burglars got away. that's also a good thing. that's good that people get involved. and apparently, according to his statement, he was driving to target. now, he's driving to target. it's raining. and what does he do? he calls the police with something suspicious.

then he tracks this guy down. he tracks trayvon martin. he doesn't just call the police and, okay, stay in your car. he keeps following him. then he goes even further. he gets out of the car. so he sees the victim. he's suspicious of the victim. he calls 911 nonemergency. all those actions, no crime has been committed there. there's no crime right there. but it's important to realize this is what led to trayvon martin being dead. the defendant, 28 years old, 5'7", 204 pounds and armed. now, i'm going to stop right here. he had the right to bear arms. we live in this great country. the second amendment allows people to carry a firearm.

and he had a permit. he had a right to have a concealed permit. to have a concealed firearm. again, he is not violating any law. the victim in this case, 17 years old, 5'11", 158 pounds. he was unarmed. well, i guess if you would consider skittles or the tea. i'm not trying to make light of it. defense is saying, oh, it's that concrete, you know. we'll talk about the concrete. but what started this? assumptions. incorrect assumptions on the part of one individual. again, that's the last photograph we have of trayvon martin.

this innocent 17-year-old kid was profiled as a criminal. to quote the defendant, and pardon my language, he was one of those [ expletive ] that get away. [ muted ]. >> so the defense will argue, that shows that he didn't have any ill will or hatred. no, i would submit to you that he uttered it under his breath. that itself indicates ill will and hatred. because he was speaking to the 911 or nonemergency person, but what he was doing is he was verbalizing what he was thinking.

and that's why that's important. because in his mind, he already assumed certain things. that trayvon [ muted ]. you recall the prior calls? we brought in five, i think defense put on another one, six, within the last five, six months where crimes had been committed in the neighborhood. he was sick and tired of it. the law doesn't say, okay, take the law into your own hands. i'm sorry, i got the wrong guy. i'm so sorry. i thought he was a criminal. mr. martin, tracy martin, sybrina fulton, i am so sorry. i made a mistake. i didn't realize that trayvon martin was up to -- was minding his own business. i am terribly sorry. you